Moving towards Option B

Yesterday, I wrote a post commenting on the free-market, negotiate-with-the-copyright-owner option that’s hardly mentioned in news articles and editorials on the internet royalty rate battle. Well, I happened to come across a new story that shows one of these webcasters using that option.

I wrote a post yesterday commenting on an option that webcasters have to deal with the government’s increased royalty rates: Negotiate with record companies and artists directly. In my example, I called this “Option B.” I also commented that this option is hardly ever mentioned in the debate. Well, a few days ago I came across an article that not only mentions the option, but shows an example of a webcaster using it. As reported in “SoundEx touts digital royalty deal” at the Hollywood Reporter:

Some stations are taking matters into their own hands.

Smoothjazz.com, a station in Monterey, Calif., is asking artists to waive their rights to the royalty in exchange for airplay.

and…

Shore [founder of Smoothjazz] contends that stations the size of Smoothjazz that allow artists to sell CDs right off the site help the artist as much as the webcaster.

“Not one artist has said: ‘You’re trying to rip us off,’ ” she said.

It’s up to the artist to decide whether the promotional value of her station is worth forgoing the payment they’d receive through SoundExchange, she explained.

“If they want to waive so we can play them, then they do; if they don’t, they don’t,” she said. “It’s totally up to the artist.”

Here is a webcaster that is going about securing the rights to play her music the right way: by asking for permission. The exposure webcasters give to musicians they play should be used as a negotiating tool, not an excuse or a rationalization for using government power to take away the property rights of music artists.